Aïda Ballmann is an actress, director and producer from the Canary Islands. She was born on the island El Hierro, Spain to German parents Kitabo (a famous painter) and Aminata.
She studied Dramatic Art in Gijón and finished her degree in Seville in 2009. In addition she trained in the Meisner technique (in Germany and Spain), amongst others.
Her first works in theater were with the companies La Sonrisa del Lagarto, Fauna y Arte and La CarbonerÃÂa de la Lola, with which she participated in more than twelve productions.
She also worked as a stunt, which led her to participate in the productions El Oro del Rin and La Valquiria of La Fura dels Baus.
In 2012, she starred in her first feature film, The Extraordinary Tale, by and Laura Alvea, shot in English, for which she was awarded best actress at the Cardiff Independent Film Festival and at Film Bizarro. She was nominated for best actress at the Andalusian Film Writers' Association Awards (ASECAN), and was reviewed in magazines such as Hollywood Reporter.
Shortly after, she was awarded best actress at the Festivalito for Perséfone and received the Leoncio Morales Award for her contribution to the culture of her native island.
She participated in series such as Operación Barrio Inglés, Una vida menos en Canarias, Endlich Witwer, Crossfire, Lo que escondÃÂan sus ojos, El Tiempo entre Costuras, ÃÂguila Roja, Brigada de Fenómenos and Malviviendo, and starred in various Spanish and international feature films. Among them were La Velocidad de nuestros Pensamientos by Nacho Chueca, the German production Die Insel by Lars Ostmann, El Gigante y la Sirena by Roberto Chinet, Atlánticas by Guillermo GarcÃÂa López, The Europeans by VÃÂctor GarcÃÂa León, Gleich by Jeniffer Castañeda, The metamorphosis of Narcissus, by the Iranian director Hamed Alizadeh, Lôavia i el foraster by Sergi Miralles or A una isla de ti, by Alexis Morante.
Of her short films, Five Minutes by Genesis Lence and co-starring her sister Serai Ballmann, stands out. Its world premiere was at the Short Film Corner section of the 74th Cannes Film Festival. For this work, Ballman was nominated for best actress at VIFA 2022.
Her debut as a director and producer was with the documentary Sand Path, screened at more than forty festivals, in which she talks about interculturality.